I was in the driveway at midnight, as most people are, just as Trish arrived from work. We walked in the house and saw what appeared to be one of those rubbery plastic lizard things you buy at Dollar Tree. Trish even said, “Is that a fake lizard?” The question itself made me laugh, since we don’t typically have fake lizards lying around the house. However, this particular night we had a family with a young boy staying at our house, so it was possible. As we stooped close to investigate, the gecko dashed full-speed under the couch. Those little guys are fast, creepy fast. I feel like the translucent pink albino geckos are much faster than the green lizard sort. Anyway, given the option of catching the gecko and releasing him outside, or being attacked by the gecko while sleeping, we decided to catch him. Clearly, the best way to do this is with a Rudy’s cup. So Trish grabbed the couch and threw it across the living room as I chased the reptile and tried to trap him under the Rudy’s cup. The process took about 10 minutes; the Gecko darting to different shelters, Trish throwing couches, me running around with a Rudy’s cup. I tried to justify waking up the 8 year old boy in the back room and asking him catch the lizard, but then I thought it was probably poor form to wake up your houseguests at midnight to help remove reptiles from the living room. We eventually caught him. So then he was trapped under the cup, but what next? I sure wasn’t going to put my hand over the cup just to have him escape and run up my arm. Trish handed me a magazine to slide over the opening. This is where I’m afraid Albi lost his life. In an effort to keep pressure on the Rudy’s cup while sliding the magazine between the carpet and the cup, I think Albi may have gotten compacted. Thinking he was still alive, I tossed the magazine and the Rudy’s cup out the door. Albi did not dash to freedom as I’d hoped. Instead, he glided effortlessly to rest on the sidewalk below. Effortlessly, because he was dead as a hammer. I’m sorry this happened to him. Next time I will use better judgment and wake the 8 year old. I don’t hate geckos, but I am a little disturbed when their soft white underbellies are scampering across the kitchen window screen or across the living room floor. Dearest Albi, my apologies, please rest in peace.
